Both drives have been imaged with the same base windows installation (Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit). The HDD disk has also been defragmented prior to running to ensure it boots as fast as possible.

As you can see from the video, the SSD solidly trounces the HDD in boot performance (~22 seconds vs ~42 seconds, of which almost 9 seconds is waiting for the BIOS screen to show). The tradeoff is limited storage space (64GB vs 1TB) and a higher price per gigabyte. To get the best of both worlds, use an SSD as the main boot drive and add a traditional hard drive for extra storage space.

The PCPartPicker Build Series highlights different computer builds several times a month. Sets of components are assembled, benchmarked, and reviewed, covering different price points and use cases from basic browsing to gaming.

This build provides a capable gaming machine that handles current games with ease. By pairing an Intel Core i5-2500K processor and a Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler, we can extract even more performance by modestly overclocking the system.

For gaming builds, the Intel Core i5-2500K is the dominant favorite. Excellent performance, great overclocking potential, and a modest price make this an almost unbeatable choice for a gaming CPU.

With good cooling, a relatively small footprint, and a convenient handle on top, the Cooler Master Storm Scout case is an interesting candidate for LAN events. For a case this size, cooling is certainly adequate. While the side panel window has mounts for two 120mm fans, the height of the Hyper212 EVO CPU cooler effectively blocks one from being used. Also be warned that the plastic expansion slot latches are extremely fragile - applying a small amount of pressure in the wrong spot caused one to break.

The PCPartPicker Build Series highlights different computer builds several times a month. Sets of components are assembled, benchmarked, and reviewed, covering different price points and use cases from basic browsing to gaming.

For this set of requirements, a light-to-moderate amount of CPU power is necessary. While a single core can likely handle the load, dual cores provide a bit of processing power headroom. An Intel Pentium G620 CPU is efficient and inexpensive, and provides plenty of CPU power.

Since the Intel G620 CPU contains an integrated video controller, onboard video can be used by choosing the proper chipset. A Biostar H61MU3 motherboard hosts an H61 chipset, which supports onboard video when paired with a CPU that has integrated video (such as the G620). The onboard video is used for OS installation, configuration, and occasional maintenance, so a separate video card is not necessary. All other interaction is done over the network via SSH.

As the number of hard drive images stored on the device is only likely to increase, there needs to be plenty of space for additional drives. The NZXT Source 210 case handles this requirement with ease as it provides eight 3-1/2" internal drive bays. While the Biostar H61MU3 motherboard only hosts 4 SATA ports, additional ports can always be added via a separate SATA controller card.

Powering everything is a Cooler Master 450W power supply. At 450 watts, the supply is a bit overkill for the power draw of the components. However, it provides plenty of headroom in case all eight drive bays are populated.

The initial set is not complete, but I feel like it is a large enough sampling of hardware for people to get an idea of what it will become. As time progresses, I will be incorporating more hardware and adding more results. I will also be expanding the set of benchmarks to be run as well. I wanted more to be available, but at a certain point you just have to stop and ship it.

In addition to providing tables of benchmark data, you can also get relevant benchmark information based on your particular part list (if available). When you configure a part list, a "Benchmarks" tab will appear next to the "Prices By Merchant". If you click on this tab, it'll show you benchmark results that are available and relevant to parts you've picked out. However, as my hardware pool is somewhat limited right now, it may not show many (if any) results… for now.

I hope you find it useful. Please let me know if you have any feedback or bug reports.